Things to Alter MDF Basket and Ink storage

Hi all

I am sharing my final project for Things to Alter today. It is with great sadness that my time with this team has come to an end but life must go on.

I used the  5 inch by 4 inch long basket which is great for storing paints and ink bottles. You can find it here http://thingstoalter.co.uk/products/mdf-baskets-with-handles

I have a full tutorial here http://whatkatiedid2.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/things-to-alter-tutorial-mdf-basket.html

Thank you for visiting

Things to Alter Tutorial MDF Basket

Hi all

I have a new tutorial for you and today i am going to show you what to do with the MDF baskets.

First coat the pieces with gesso or white paint

Once dry coat with your main color. I choose lilac

Let the paint dry and use a stencil with modeling paste to add a pattern over the front and back pieces.

Glue the pieces with PVA glue or hot glue.

when it has all dried off, add another color by dry brushing over the top of the first layer.

Let that layer dry and then repeat with a second color

I decorated the front by painting a couple of butterflies and blending two metallic colors together.

Thank you for visiting

Things to Alter Shabby Chic Christmas Tree and Tutorial

Hi all

Today i am going to show you how to create this shabby chic Christmas tree.

Coat the mdf with white gesso or cheap white acrylic paint.

Using a stencil apply the pattern onto the base once the gesso has dried. Scrap off any of any excess medium.

Apply a couple of coats of pink acrylic paint. I mixed DecoArt Oatmeal and candy pink to get this colour

Make sure that the holes are free from paint 

Add 8 mm pearls by threading hoop pins through them and hooking the wire through the hole.

Put a blob of glue near the top of the tree and wrap beaded wire around the tree

Finish the top of the tree by adding a lace bow and embelishment

Things to Alter How To Stamp With Engraved MDF Shape

Hi all

Today i am going to show you how to stamp with engraved MDF shapes

You will need 

Tissue paper white

Pigment ink

Glue Stick

Acrylic block

MDF Shape

Glue the MDF shape to the acrylic block with a glue stick. 

Then cover with ink

Press the inked shape into the tissue paper. I used a soft surface like this foam sheet as it helps the ink onto the surface.

Here is the image close up

Crackle Effect Tag Tutorial

First choose your base colour. I choose one darker then the top layer so it 

shows through.

Cover the tag in the base colour and leave to dry

Once the base coat is dry, add a thick layer of PVA glue over the top

Now paint your top layer over the wet PVA. The thicker the layer of PVA the 

bigger the cracks

This is how it should look once dry

Thank you for visiting

Things to Alter Festive Fireplace

Hello everyone

I am back with an altered Christmas Fireplace from Things to Alter 

I coated the whole thing in gesso first and then painted it with black gesso. Then i coated it with weathered wood medium and then crackle paste. Once dry it leaves this deep crackle effect. Once it has all dried i painted it with English Red Oxide Antiquating cream and sealed it with crackle medium.

I decorated the top of the fireplace with some green tinsel trim and little berries which when hooked on look like baubles. 

The stockings are painted with acrylic paint and then painted with crackle medium. I then rubbed antiquating cream into the cracks.

I added mini pine cones and a tree

Thank you for visiting 

Things to Alter Rust Technique Mini Tutorial

Hello crafty friends

Would you like to learn how to make things look rusty without buying expensive products? I bet you do so you can spend more money on paper pads.

First of all you will need some powder cinnamon and any orange and brown acrylic paint. I used Docrafts Artiste for this tutorial.

Now we add a blob of each colour onto a palette 

Mix the colours together adding more brown for a darker look if needed

Apply mixture to mdf. I use it on the cogs from Things to Alter 

Sprinkle on the powdered cinnamon while paint is wet

Paint over the powder 

Layer up the cinnamon powder to create a more rusted look and leave some cinnamon unpainted to create different tones.

Here is the finished item which can be dry brushed with another colour to create depth.

Some more steampunk bits

Thank you for visiting and if you want to see more tutorials pop some suggestions in the comments.

DecoArt Blogger Outreach Program: Things to Alter Coffin Boxes

Hello Craft Friends

Today I am continuing the Halloween theme with these delightfully haunting coffins. Here is the finished project and below i will go through how i got the wreathed wood effect.

These are the coffin boxes from Things to Alter which you can find here.http://thingstoalter.co.uk/products/3d-coffin-with-lid-mdf. They are great for putting little gifts inside or maybe a skeleton.

I used the large rosette die by Tim Holtz and added a little mdf spider on top.

I used a skull bead and added flowers

This one was stained with red DecoArt Media Mister and spritzed with water which i let drip down the lid. Looks like blood doesn't it.

To create this weathered wood look, I first coated the coffins in Black Gesso and then once dried i added Weathered Wood Crackle Medium. 

Next add a thick layer of White Crackle paste and leave to dry. Once dry you get a deep crackle that will flake off if it isn't sealed.

To get the faded mahogany look, i used DecoArt Antiquing cream and painted on the English Red Oxide around the edges. I then used a wet brush and spritzed water onto the cream to turn it into a wash and just painted it over the whole coffin. I repeated this step with Raw Umber to get a dirty brown color.

I lined the coffins with red material so it looks like a Vampire Coffin.

Thank you for visiting